


A Different Path

by Oseddian



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-07-16 01:43:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7247140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oseddian/pseuds/Oseddian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The road down the dark side is paved with pain and turmoil, but leads to unlimited power. Anakin Skywalker, found at the age of five by Darth Sidious, walks down this path. Yet as the clone wars begin, the trail becomes harder and harder to follow, especially when the champions of the light side begin to plant thoughts of a better future in the young Sith Apprentice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Anakin grips his mothers hand as much for his own comfort as for hers as they walk down a long, dusty alleyway towards Wattos shop. The rising sun is just starting to warm up the cold air left behind from the night, it streams through the gaps in the run-down buildings around him. It's his fifth birthday, but he still has to get up at dawn to go to work. All of his free friends didn't have to get up at dawn on their birthday, which annoys him. It isn't fair and he doesn't understand why he has to when nobody else has. He would never admit it to anyone but he even cried a little bit when Schmi had made him get up to leave.

But as she saw the tears swell in his eyes she wrapped her soft, loving arms around her innocent little son and promised him that she would make it up to him when they got home. Her warm embrace made him feel better, like it always did whem he was upset. A little flicker of something Anakin didn't yet understand told him she was just as upset as him, so he took her hand and followed her out the door with the bravest face he could muster.

Now all he has to do is to wait until seven, when they get home, and then he can have some real fun. He saw the present his mom had tired to hide from him in her room. She is keeping it under a thick old blanket but he could see the edges of a box sticking through the fabric. He is giddy with excitement, the fact that she won't even tell him what his surprise is makes him even more so.

They round the corner and Wattos junk shop comes into view, he wonders what menial job he will be tasked with completing today. His mother squeezes his hand protectively as they cross the road, not that Anakin can't look after himself, according to him, he is perfectly capable of crossing even the busiest intersections independently. Mom thinks otherwise. 

She presses the grimy button that opens the door to the shop and leads him inside. The smell of oil and rust hits him immidatly. He knows this place well, probably even better than he knows his own home, it's where he spends most of his day, every day. 

"Your here at last, what took you so long eh?" Watto asks with a thick accent as he hovers behind the counter.

"I'm sorry, we were held up when a man asked us for directions to the local pod racing track, isn't that right Ani" she lies.

Anakin is momentarily confused, so he looks up at his mother with an expression of unexpected puzzlement. They are late because he spent a good ten minutes crying about having to go to work on his birthday. She smiles down at him reassuringly, so he decides to go along with his mother. He turns his head towards Watto and nods in agreement.

"Ah, those off worlders always wanna go to check out the pod racin' eh?" Watto remarks with a disapproving shake of his head. "their wastin' all of their money betting when they could be spending it here" he says dejectedly. 

Anakin remembers that Watto gambles too, and that he owns them because he won them in a bet. He suddenly feels the need to share this fact but as he draws in a deep breadth to speak with his mother squeezes his hand tightly as if silently telling him to stay quiet.

Watto rounds the counter and begins rummaging through a box of bolts.

"Just don't be late again or I'll take your rations away eh? Ani you sort through all these, I want all the different types of bolts in their own box. Schmi you get to cleaning up that mess in the back room" 

"Of course" Schmi says. She lets go of anakins hand to plant her own on his shoulder. She squeezes it one more time before leaving to carry out her task. 

Anakin does that thing he can't describe to anyone as his mothers emotions suddenly appear in his mind. He feels her anxiety dribble wash away because Watto didn't punish them, and he feels her determination to do her job to the best of her ability surface as she gets to work.

Wishing that the day would go a bit quicker, he wastes his pent up energy by skipping over to the boxes he has to sort, a quick glance at them tells Anakin that there are at least a hundred different types of bolts in there. Or maybe he is just being a Debbie downer again like that old lady said when he told her that the sand kept getting in his clothes. Watto flys back to the counter and starts counting the credits in the till. 

His small little fingers quickly start picking out the different sorts of bolts and putting them in their seperate boxes. The big ones go with the big ones, the little ones go with the little ones. The short ones shouldn't be with the longs ones. It is such a mindless task that Anakin is very quickly bored out of his mind. But to his credit, he starts off strong and keeps sorting for nearly a whole hour before his mind starts to wander back to the present his mom has hidden from him. He frowns as he once again tries to figure out what it is. A model fighter maybe? More books about space? Soon he is completely bored with his task and can barley stand to look at the pile of bolts in front of him.

"I'm five today you know" he states with childish glee to Watto. 

"Five? Already?" Watto let's out a few soft chuckles "Your getting big Ani, soon you can start helping your mother fix the droids"

Anakin darts around to square his master with an expression of unadulterated glee.

"Really? I can?!" Thoughts of finally being able to fiddle with the treasure trove inside the shop filling him with excitement.

"Well, only if your good. So get back to work, I want those sorted by the end of the day"

Anakin sighs, knowing all to well that it's a bad idea to get on his masters wrong side. He sulkily returns his attention to his job and resolves himself to power through it. After what feels like an eternity of sorting, he eventfully allows himself to think about his present again. It would be really awesome if his mom bought him a book about droids. Then he could repair anything in the shop. Maybe one day he will even be the best mechanic on Tattooine.

Several gruelling hours jam packed with boredom of the worst kind eventually pass by and Watto allows Anakin and his mom to go into the backyard for lunch.

Schmi unwraps the homecooked buns she made the night before and hands one to her son. 

"Thanks" He says happily as he hops over to metal the bench by the wall and sits himself down. He takes one giant bite out of the top of the bun as his mother comes to join him.

"Mom, why did you lie to Watto earlier?" he muffles loudly with a mouth full of bun. Crumbs trickle out of his mouth and stick to his tunic, but he is to busy staring up at his mother to notice.

She smiles down at him with caring brown eyes. 

"I didn't want him to know that you held us up" 

Anakin raises one of his eyebrows like the people in the comic books he reads always do when they're puzzled. He gathers the giant ball of food in his mouth and swallows it all with one giant gulp.

"But you said lying is wrong" 

He says before stuffing another giant chunk of food into his mouth. This piece is so big that his cheeks hurt.

She wraps her arm around his shoulder and wipes the crumbs off his shirt.

"Sometimes we do things that we usually think are bad to protect those we love from harm"

"But it's still bad, right?" 

Her hand moves to cup his face and she wipes a large chunk of bun off his cheek with her thumb.

"Yes, but I didn't hurt Watto because he doesn't know any better, and if told him the truth he would have gotten angry and we all would have suffered"

Anakin digests this information for a few moments as his mother continues to wipe crumbs from his lap. She didn't do it because it was bad and she's a bad person, she did it because she was protecting him, so she is a good person. Anakin concludes that sometimes you have to do bad things to protect good people.

"I understand" he says with a broad smile that reveals his missing front tooth.

"I knew you would, your my smart little boy Ani" she says with soft encouragement.

"I'm not little!" He shouts in protest. 

"You certainly haven't gotten a little tummy judging by the way you ate that bun" she jokes as she tickles the sides of his tummy.

He can't help but burst to laughter, his sides are always his weak spot.

"Stop! Mom!" He cries through fits of laughter.

Her timer dings, telling them that their break is up. Thankfully freeing him from her tickle torture. She wipes her own crumbs of her lap and stands up in front of her son.

"Come on Ani" she says with a golden smile as she reaches out her hand.

He smiles back and gets up with her. Just a few more hours now before they can go home.

***

It's evening now and the heat of the day is starting to pass. Anakin is ready to climb up on the counter he is so excited. He happily jumps from foot to foot as his mother talks with Watto in the back room. If it's a model fighter, he is going to put it up on that big empty spot on his shelf. He can even move some of his old stuff out of the way depending on how big it is.

Schmi finally appears and walks over to him, she feels just as excited is him when she sees the look on his face.

"Ready to go?" She asks, though he suspects she already knows the answer.

"You bet!" He says, grabbing her hand impatiently.

"See you tomorrow" she calls to Watto as she gathers the few things she takes with her to work.

"Alright. Don't be late tomorrow eh?" He calls back from the other room.

"We won't" she says before opening the door to leave.

They head outside and Anakin struggles to not drag his mom across the street. They walk home quicker than usual as Anakin interrogates her once more about his present. But she remains frustratingly quiet. All she will do is reply with an understanding smile and a few gentle words of consolation.

They reach their hut as the last few drops of light give way to the encroaching darkness. Schmi opens the door and before she can set foot inside her son has bolted past her legs and into her room. She hurriedly closes the door and rushes after him. She follows him to see that he thankfully hasn't opened his present yet, she didn't want to miss this for the world.

Anakin kneels beside the big blanket his present is hidden under. Its at the foot of her cot, which takes up most of the space in the small room. He looks back at her with eyes betraying all the excitement he built up over the day. 

"Well, go on" she says as her smile grows so big it almost rivals his.

Anakin pulls back the blanket with one powerful tug. Underneath is a big box about half the size of himself, it's kept together with black tape.  
He still can't tell what it is though, so he hurriedly pulls away at the tape to get a look inside. He opens it out to see that there are lots of old fashioned manuals on top, made from real paper. He carefully pulls them out, not wanting to so much as leave a small crumple on his new belongings. To his glee he reads that they are droid construction manuals! They look like their for some sort of protocol droid. 

"Cool!" He exclaims. He flicks through the pages. It gives detailed information om the specifics of a humanoid translation droid. 

"It's fluent in over 6 million languages! That's so awesome!" Anakin says with a smile so big it was threatening to reach his ears.

"Unfortunately I couldn't get you a protocol droid Ani, but I'm sure if we look around in the junkyard we will find you some parts to get you started" she says, knowing how musch her son wants to start working on droids himself.

"Yeah!" He says as he flicks though the pages again.

"There's more, look in the box again" she says she kneels down beside him.

Anakin can hardly believe his ears. 

"More?" He says as he looks into the box again. 

He sees the glint of something shiny catch his eyes beside the scrap metal his mother no doubt collected for him.

He reaches in and grabs the mysterious object. He pulls it out to see that's it a brand knew hyperspanner; a multi-purpose tool designed to allow one to be able to fix and build robotics with ease. 

"Wow! Mom, where did you find this?" He asked as he reverently stares at his new implement. Hyperspanners may not be new technology, but they are top of the range in the outer rim. To a slave they would cost a small fortune. He never thought he would get his hands on one of them. 

"I have my ways" she says as her sons joy threatnes to bring her tears. 

"Thanks mom. Your the best!" He exclaims. 

Anakin jumps up and runs over to his mom to give her a big hug. She lets him run into her chest before she wraps her arms around him. He squeezes her with all his might, conveying in any that he can how much her presents mean to him.

"Take care of these now" she says as she kisses his blonde hair affectionately. "And don't let Watto see your new tools" 

"I'll always keep them safe, I promise" he says with as much sencerity as a five year old can muster. He knows that they are poorer than most people and mom always has to tell him just that whenever he saw what his free friends got on their birthdays. So his mother must have gone through a lot of trouble to get him what she did and he promisees himself that he will repay her by looking after them as best as he can.

After a few precious moments embracing get each other, Schmi pulls back to look down on her son. He looks back at her with big blue eyes and gives her a wonderful smile that makes her heart melt. That smile, makes everything she goes through worth it.

"Now, how about we get some dinner and I'll tell you about the constellations before we Settle in for the night?" She says, knowing that teaching him about space will distract him from having to go to bed. Anakin is so energetic all the time that sometimes it's nearly impossible to get him to sleep.

"Yeah!" 

He watches his mother slowly move from a kneeling position to a standing one. He can feel that her knees and back hurt from cleaning all day. He doesn't knew how he knows though, and he is kind of scared that people will think he is crazy if he tells them he can do this.

She walks out into the kitchen. He looks down at his presents one last time, feeling completly satisfied with his birthday. The wait was worth it. He picks up his hyper spanner and clips it unto his belt before following his mother out into the kitchen. He wonders what she will tell him about space tonight.

***

Dooku fixes his cape uneasily as his pilot lands his ship in the grungy space port on Tatooine's surface. Tatooine, possibly one of the worst planets panet in the Galaxy. Hot, poor, corrupt. Everything the Count hates. But his master had insisted that he come here. In his meditations Sidious had sensed that there was an extremely powerful force sensitive on this planet and that he would be their key to victory against the republic. Dooku had begrudgingly went along with his master as he usually did. How his master had managed to sense an untrained, and likely very young uncertainty who lived on the other side of the Galaxy was beyond him. Part of him didn't even believe Sidious. But he was here anyway. And here in the late hours of the day too, which would make finding him or her all the more difficult. 

Dooku waves away his guard as he steps out into the dusty, and frankly filthy landing pad. He tries his best to ignore the suspicious individuals eyeing him as he walks as quickly as he can to his destination, some junk shop. The address is nothing special, but his master had insured him that he would find what they were looking for there. He just hopes Sidious was right so he can go there, get the little brat and leave as soon as humanly possible.

The streets he quickly realises, are just as filthy as the landing pad. This place is wretchedly poor and he can almost feel himself losing money by just existing here. He reaches the junk shop quickly. True to it's name, there is indeed junk everywhere. Though it looks closed, which causes the Count to grimace. Although he can sense an individual inside, not that he needed to. He clearly hears him knocking over something and letting out a string of curses in responce. 

Dooku, sighs, mentally preparing himself for his conversation with this backwater peasant. Oh how he hates talking to the ignorent and the poor. In his experience, the poor are all most deffinatly ignorent. He opens the door to the shop with the force and strides inside. A blue toydarian is there to greet him. 

"We're closed. Come back tomorrow" he says in questionable standard and flys away. 

But the count is having none of it. It's bad enough having to come to this wretched planet without its inhabitants treating him so rudely. He raises his hand and grabs the weak little alien with the force. 

"That may be true, but we aren't done talking yet" he says as he strides over to his captive. The toydarian struggles, but to no avail. He remains suspended in the air thanks to the counts unquestionable power.

"Wha- what do you want?" It asked rather aggressively. 

Dooku smiles a cunning smile as he looks into his captives stunned eyes. It's not every day a Sith Lord suspends you with the force. 

"Information, my friend" 

"Huh?" 

"I'm looking for a child, one who spends or has spent a lot of time in this shop. Do you know anyone who fits that description?"

There are a few brief moments of silence, which are eventfully broken by the toydarian, who laughs uncomfortably

"That's not a lot of information to go on eh?" 

That responce isn't what he is looking for and he has to refrain from killing the pathetic little alien. He needs him, for now. 

"This individual would be.... unusually talented" the count continued.

The toydarian is silent for a few moments as he considers the counts words.

"I don't know anyone particularly talented, but my slave Anakin spends a lot of time here. He's a kid, and he's pretty smart for his age"

The force reacts unexpectedly as the toydarian utters his slaves name. Dooku can feel the darkness signalling to him with a flurry of intense energy. It seems that this master was right, someone powerful may very well be here after all.

"Your Slave, you say?"

"Yeah, he ain't for sale" the toydarian says, rather uneasily. 

"Oh I'm sure I could make it worth your while" 

He pulls out a huge bag of credits and drops it unto the counter.

"Now, I am offering you considerably more than a typical child would be worth. I suggest you accept my generosity, lest there be... complications" 

The the aliens merit, it seems to understand what he is insuinating. It's beady eyes dart between the money and his face as it try's to find a way out of the deal. 

"Ah, he's nothing special, I think you got the wro-" the aliens drabble is cut of as Dooku tightens his grip around its neck.

"I assure you, I have the right person. Show me where he is, and you may live" he says, growing increasingly more tired of this conversation.

"Ok! Ok! Ack!" The toydarian manages to splurt as he chokes. 

Dooku smiles. 

"Good" 

He lets go of the toydarian altogether and the pathetic beast nearly falls to the ground as he does so. He gasps for a few moments, Dooku watches him silently. He eventually manages to pull himself together, his wings start working again and he steadies his flight.

"He is probably at home now, I'll go pick him up for you"

"And I will accompany you" Dooku says as they both exit the shop.

This could have gone a lot worse, Dooku reflects as they walk down another putrid back alley. He could have had to spend several days scouring this disgusting bantha ridden pit in search of this kid, but he did not. His master will be pleased with his progress, most pleased.


	2. Chapter 2

Anakin watches as his mother leaves his bedside and heads for the door. She flicks off his light switch. Now the only brightness in the room is coming from the open doorway, a long block of yellow light traces the doors shape along the ground. Schmi stepsoutside and in doing so casts a shadow over to his bed.

"Goodnight sweetie" She says in a quiet tone.

"Night mom, I love you" he says much louder than his mother. He is still wide awake, and to busy thinking about his new toys to fake tiredness for mothers sake.

She shakes her head at him but he doesn't miss the growing smile on her face.

"Now, try to get some sleep" she says as she closes the door, leaving the room in darkness.

He scoffs to himself, if he went to sleep that would mean that he would be one step closer to getting up and going to work again tomorrow. And that is the last thing he wants to happen. He quietly slips out of his cot, and can feel bits of sand rustling around in his pyjamas. He surpresses a groan. Sand is the worst! It gets everywhere. How did it even get in his pyjamas? He sighs and decides to instead focuses on the object of his desires; the hyperspanner on his desk. 

Mom told him not to bring it to work, but since he spends almost all day working that should mean that he gets more time to play with it at night right? He sneaks over to his desk, conscious of the thin walls of their hut, and plucks the hyperspanner from its resting place. It's cold to the touch thanks to the shiny metal incasing its insides. Anakin wonders if he can tamper with it and make it even cooler that in already is. 

It's surface is covered in buttons, and he decides to press one at random. The hyperspanner abruptly starts vibrating and making a sharp screeching noise. He nearly jumps out of his skin with surprise. He angrily whispers several curses a five year old really shouldn't know and hurriedly presses the button several times before it finally stops making noise. 

He is dead still, and listens for any clue if his mother heard him or not. The seconds tick by and nothing happens, the only noise is the gentle sound of the wind kicking up sand outside. Eventually, Anakin decides that he is safe and moves back to his cot. Sometimes he does wonder about his mothers hearing. He climbs back onto it and sits on the edge, letting his short legs dangle absently as he examines the hyperspanner. 

Then he hears several loud thuds that make him gasp. His hands grip tighter around his hyperspanner. The sound is coming from outside. Is it a monster? Mom always says monsters aren't real, she even went as far as to promise him a million credits if he ever found one. But Gretto told him that tuskin Raiders steal slave children from their homes and feed them to their pets, alive. He goes cold at the thought of it. He always has nightmares about that happening. They may not be monsters but they defiantly act like them, and he knows they are real. Tuskins are really scary. There are three more loud thuds, followed by muffled voices. He hears a door open followed by his mothers voice.

And at that he is flooded with relief; someone must be at the door. It's not a monster, it's just a normal person. Although, why would someone be calling in the middle of the night? It's not like they had much guests anyway. No one official ever visited slave quarters, so the only guests he had ever seen in their house had been fellow slaves who knew his mom.

He shrugs, decides that Schmi will probably handle it and returns his attention back to his hyperspanner. But mere seconds later he hears his mother let out a heart-breaking cry. His entire body tenses. He hears Watto shout now. There is the sound movement outside. The shadow of whoever is lurking on the other side seeps through the crack at the bottom of the door. 

Watto never comes here, something must be really wrong. The door abruptly opens to reveal a tall human wearing a long cape. His mother rushes towards him.

"No! Please!" She cries desperatly.

Watto is holding her by the shoulder, slowly dragging her back from the doorway. Anakin doesn't like the way the strange man looks. He is old and has a cruel smile on his face that almost makes Anakin think he is enjoying his mothers distress. 

"Mom?" He asks, struggling to hide the fear in his voice. 

"Yes, this is the one" the man says, his accent is pure core world; rich and dignified. That only scares Anakin more. What's someone like that doing here? In his house?

"Don't take him! You can't take him!" Schmi crys, she finally breaks free of Watto and charges towards Anakin. But she stops mid stride, like an invisible hand has just halted her. An expression of confusion crosses her face, but it's quickly replaced once more by dread. 

"I assure you, mis Skywalker, that your son will be well cared for. You have no need to worry for him" the stranger says, not breaking eye contact with Anakin.

Sudden realisation slaps him across the face. He was being sold. Watto sold him. This man is here to take him away. 

"But I don't want to go" he says so quietly it was almost a whisper. He doesn't even think anyone heard, they are all too busy focusing on his distraught mother.

"Come now Anakin, let's not waste any time" the old man says, though he does not make any move to leave.

His mother let's out another high pitched cry. Her face is red and puffy and wet with tears. Watto looks somewhat unsure of himself behind her. 

"Watto?" Anakin askes, silently begging him to let him stay. He feels his own eyes welling up with tears as his stomach wells up with dread. His mom is like his best friend, the most important person in his entire world, he can't leave her! 

"Go on kid, don't keep 'em waiting" Watto says. 

"I don't want to" Anakin says again, a little more loudly this time.

The strange man lets out a loud sigh, rolls his eyes like everything about this situation is an annoying inconvenience and crosses the room in two graceful strides. He grabs Anakin by the shoulder with strength that he didn't expect a man of his age to have. His grip is cold and digs into his skin. The man drags Anakin off his bed and leads him towards the door. Anakins heart constricts in tight, painfully cold knots. he can't believe this is actually happening, yet it is.

"No p-please! He is just a boy, y-you can't. He-he isn't any use to you" Schmi pleads through choking sobs.

The man ignores her and drags Anakin past his mother, and now he can't stop the tide of tears from coming either. He starts to cry too as his mother reaches out to him, he desperatly reaches back. Their fingers graze each others for a mere second before the stranger tugs him away.

"Mom!" He cries. 

Her brown eyes never leave his as he is taken to the door, she tries to follow him outside but Watto grabs her shoulder and holds her back.

"I l-love you Ani, don't forget that, I love you, I love yo-" she is cut off as the strange man abruptly shuts the door behind them.

Without so much as looking down at his new possession, the count marches down the street. Dragging a destraught Anakin with him. He is stumbles backwards, because he can't turn around to walk forward. He can't not look at his home. Getting further and further away with every step. His mother is in there. Everything he owns is in there. Another cry escapes his mouth. He will never see her again. Never be hugged by her again. 

"Now, my name is count Dooku, however you will only ever refer to me as master, I will of course expect...." the count drones as they turn a tight corner onto the Main Street. But Anakin isn't paying attention, not really. He can't. His ears are ringing, his eyes are burning. His grip around his hyperspanner tightens again and his hands turn white from the pressure. He never let it go. Not once, not even while Dooku hauled him out of his bed. 

He can never let it go, not now, it's all he has left.


	3. Chapter 3

The trip to Serenoo had been a long one. While in reality, the trip had only taken four standard hours, to Anakin it had felt much longer. Dooku had ignored him almost the entire flight, and his guard wouldn't let him leave the small room at the back of the ship in which he had been placed. It was completly empty, devoid of even a bed, forcing him to sit on the ground. But it wasn't the lack of activity that drew out the wait. It was the overwhelming feeling of loss Anakin felt. Schmi wasn't there. She would never be there, and that scared him, a lot. His mom was always there for him to run to when he needed her. She always knew what to say to make him feel better, no matter what the problem was. But she had nothing to say to him now. He felt so lost and alone that he felt like throwing up. And it wasn't only his mother that he yearned for. All of his friends were gone. He would likely never see anyone he was used to meeting ever again. He even missed Greeto, despite the fact that they fought about something stupid every time they met. Everything he understood had suddenly been ripped out of his life. The desert may not be the most pleasant place in the world. It is harsh, hot and relentless. But he could handle it. He had spent his whole life in it. And now, everything is foreign. Dooku is foreign. Serenoo is foreign. He hasn't even seen his new home planet and yet he knows that it will be nothing like Tattooine, or his old life.

And he has long since cried himself dry over that fact by the time they land. Dooku enters his temporary room and ushers him towards the ramp of the ship. Even from in here he can hear the rustle of leaves and the chirping of wildlife outside. A cold breeze blows in from outside, sending goosebumps down Anakins arms. 

"You will walk behind me and follow my lead, do nothing else unless Palpatine or myself permit it" Dooku says as they make their way down the ramp. Anakin is immidatly taken aback by the large fortress sprawling out in front of them, Dookus palace. A long walkway lined with large obelisks leads towards the giant structure some distance away. It towers up into the air, one large green window looks down upon those approaching like an eye, judging if they are worthy to enter such a opulent place. Or perhaps it's eyeing potential advisories. For some reason, Anakin can't shake the feeling that the palace is watching him. He averts his eyes, and instead looks at the sights closer to the landing pad.

The walkway is boardered by several large gardens, which house a variety of stunning plants Anakin couldn't ever have imagined to exist. Long sprawling arms of ivy already creep up youthful trees. Well maintained bushes flaunt vibrant flowers of all colours. Delicate white flowers tentitavly creep up above the grass and towards the sun. A whole manner of different species of plants sway together in the gentle wind, their rustling almost sounds like whispers. Compared to the desert, it's, well, stunning. There are stone paths leading off the main walkway and into the depths of the gardens. Promising exciting secrets those brave enough to venture forth. He can't help but stare in amazement.

"Master" Dooku says respectfully, snapping Anakin out of his daze.

He looks back towards Dooku to find him kneeling in front of a robed figure, who upon sighting immidatly sends shivers down his spine. He is smiling, revealing a set of disgusting yellow teeth, which almost shine against his black clothing. His head is tilted downwards towards Dooku.

"Darth Tyrannous, I see that your escapade was successful" he notes, slowly. Considerably. 

Anakin feels rather uncomfortable beside the two Sith. Should he be kneeling? It wasn't right that one of his masters was while he stood. But at the same time he didn't know if he should, so he stands there, trying his best to please as his panic levels rise steadily. That robed figure is so completly terrifying that Anakin can think straight. It's almost as if he can feel the danger inside the man. His presence is as black and rotten as dead fruit, who's putrid sent wafts through the air around him. 

"Yes master, though as you can see, the boy will need extensive training" Dooku says as he glances back at Anakin, standing awkwardly behind him.

"Yes" the man Anakin presumes to be Palpatine says slowly, drawing out every letter as he gazes upon him. 

Palpatines head tilts forward enough to allow Anakin to see a pair of sickly yellow eyes burrowing into his own. They stare at him with such vicious intensity that he almost turns to run. His blood turns cold. Anakin looks to the ground, to anywhere other than those eyes. But he can still feel them piercing through him. It is almost as though they are examining his thoughts, his very soul. Palpatine is still for a few moments, but slowly he begins to walk towards Anakin. With weak, frail steps he rounds Dooku to stop right in front of him.

His hands are eye level for the young boy, who can see the sharp bones inside jut outwards. Murky blue vains run along milky, dead skin. 

"Hello, Anakin. My name is Palpatine, and this" he motions with a arm towards the palace "is your new home" the voice is warm and welcoming, unlike anything he had expected. He feels soft waves of reassurance gently emanate from Palpatine.

His hand reaches out to Anakins shoulder, and squeezes. Like mom always did.

"I'm sure you will find your new accomidations to be most welcoming" he pulls Anakin forward, and leads him down the walkway. Dooku rises to his full height and follows alongside his master. 

Anakin looks up at his new masters. Palpatine is gazing down at him affectionately. But those yellow eyes, they cut right into His soul. They're bloodshot, and their rims bleed a red so bright it could rival fire. A fire that might engulf him if he stares for too long. 

"Now, there is the matter of your name" Palpatine purrs into anakins ear. "Anakin Skywalker is the name of a slave, and what are slaves, my boy?" 

"Um, servants?" Anakin asks hesitantly, not completly sure what his new master expects of him. But Palpatine only laughs and spares Dooku a knowing glance. 

"Yes, servants. And what do servants do?" No answer is immidatly comes to him. Except the answer that they serve their masters. But that answer seems to obvious to be correct. Palpatine, seemingly aware of his inner struggle, smiles down at him and squeezes his shoulder.

"Yes, they serve the strong" his eyes light up with blazing anticipation "you, my boy, are far to strong to bear the name of a mere slave"

"What do you mean?" Anakin asks with bemusement. His new master was turning out to be really confusing, and one to give unnecessarily long winded explanations.

Palpatine chuckles and his smile turns slick with deadly malice, cutting across wrinkles that twist and distort around his cheeks.

"Don't you think you need a new name? A strong name. With my guidance, a name that people will come to respect" he looks up a the approaching palace, and takes in the chilly evening air with one long, content breadth. His eyes close and he exhales.

"Yes, I can feel it now" his eyes open, and he looks down at Anakin. The fire in his eyes dance around his pupils wildly, bursting with energy. "Vader" 

The cold wind rattles agains his thick robes, but nothing can break those eyes from Anakin. His new name sends another shiver down his spine. The name of the person he was to become.

"Darth Vader"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! I haven't posted anything for this fic in ages! But that's mostly because I was reworking it and trying to decide where exactly I wanted the story to go. I changed the original plan and decided to make this more of a sappy, emotional redemption fic over a heavily action-oriented one, not that there wont be any action, there will be pleantly. I am writing about magical space wizards with all-powerful lazer swords here so action is to be expected. It just wont be the main focus of the story. I also changed the description to suit this change in direction. Worry not however, as you wont see any garring change within the flow of the story since it is only still just beginning. 
> 
> Enjoy! x

He wakes suddenly from a tormented sleep. A certain mindless discomfort are all the clues he has to what nightmare he had been experiencing. A small gasp escapes his mouth and his eyes flash open. Fear and pain ripple through his body. For a second, just a second, he is about to call for mom. But the cold dark room he finds himself in reminds him that he is far from home. 

He lies there for a minute, with breathing harsher than usual, and looks at the towering ceiling. It climbs higher and higher until the walls disappear into a black mist above. One deep breadth. It was just a dream. Another deep breadth. Dreams aren't real. He focuses on the present, turning his head to look at the small space he now sleeps in. His room is almost completely empty, spare the durasteel desk in the far corner of the room. And devoid of any devices bar a chronometer, who's shrill beeps break the heavy silence that seems to fill the air.

It's time to get up and get dressed. Dooku doesn't like it when he's late. But every cell in his body screams for just five more minutes. To just.. close his eyes, only for a moment. Only a Little longer. No. He shakes his head, as if to shake rid himself of those thoughts. Last time he was late Dooku made him do so many push ups he couldn't even lift his arms over his head afterwords. And that was only yesterday. Who knows what Dooku would do if he was late twice in a row. 

With a face scrunched in determination, he swings his legs around to the floor. Which is freezing to the touch. Everything about his room is cold. From the rims of the bed to the icy sting of the air. It's as cold as space. With a reluctant sigh, he gets up and walks over to the wall adjacent to his bed, then presses the light switch. Dim white lights flicker to life along the walls, instantly brightening a room void of anything worth illuminating. He flicks anther switch, and the grinding of hidden gears pushes out one of many concealed drawers within the wall.

He puts on a dark shirt and matching trousers. The worst part about his uniform is the sheer amount of layers that it requires. First is the shirt, then several different overlapping tunics which must be individually secured at the waist with hidden straps. Along with pair of boots which must be strapped to his trousers. Followed by a light set of flexible armor to cover his shoulders and chest. Not that he particularly minds the complicated and rather grueling procedure that he now does whenever he dresses himself, it's just that it takes time that he would rather spend sleeping. Rest is a much sought after luxury here. 

Annoyingly, the straps of the first layer don't quite make it around his waste on the first try. Blinking tiredly, he grabs the straps firmer and forces them in place. This outfit is getting a bit small for him, and that thought alights a brief flurry of dejection. It goes as quickly as it comes, and as he simmers in the emptyness that emotion brought, he remembers. Today is his tenth birthday. Not that he would have remembered if the straps hadn't reminded him. A mellow feeling of disappointment washes over him, if only briefly. Neither Dooku nor Palpatine celebrate birthdays. In fact, he was sure neither of them had even bothered to ask him when his birthday actually was. And so, for his past five birthdays, Anakin found himself coming to the bleary observation that that day marked his separation from his mother at a random point during the day. The first one had been the worst; just before he settled into a session of evening study, it had hit him. He cried when he remembered. Thankfully neither of his masters were around to see. Now however, he just finds himself feeling distantly melancholy. Anakin wonders if mom still remembers. He walks over to his desk and opens its drawer, Looking inside and spotting its only occupant instantly; the pristine surface of the hyperspanner reflects his face back unto him, and suddenly he finds himself looking into his own eyes. It had been five years today since he last saw her. Five long years without her embrace. Did she still miss him? Or had she moved on? A prickle of fear bites into the back of his neck. She wouldn't forget him, would she? Breathing out an uneasy breadth, he glances at his chronometer. Its 7:55, and he has to make his way through the palace to the dining room for breakfast before 8:00. He didn't have time to worry about this right now. Mentally he mentally pulls himself together and steels himself for another day. Palpatine says worry is a weak emotion anyway. 

He closes the drawer, leaves his room, and heads down one of the many huge corridors within the palace. Tall black columns rooted to a polished floor hold up a large, slowly curving ceiling. Streams of green-tinted light stream through a line of green-tinted Windows. The corridor leads to a set of spiral stairs, which leads to another corridor, at the end of which is one of two dining rooms in the residential sector of the palace. There is also another dining room closer to the main hall, which would be used on formal occasions or when dining with guests. Though Anakin rarely sees the inside of that room, and can't even really remember where exactly it is. Dooku always uses it when Palpatine visits, but Anakin is never allowed inside. 

He trots down the large set of stairs and hurries along a corridor so large an entire street of slave families could have lived in it. To be late by even a second would merit punishment in the counts eyes, so he makes up for all the time he can now by running up to the large pair of ornately carved wooden doors, almost five times his height, that mark the entrance to the dining room. He swallows hard, crossing his fingers and hoping that taking the time to look at his last present hadn't cost him to much time, and pushes the door open. 

There is a large, twenty person table inside. Made from a deep dark wood polished to the point that you could see your own reflection in it. Dooku sits on the opposite end to the entrance, at the front of the table. A cup sits quaintly beside him, yawning out long streams of steam. A plate of colorful fruit lies below him, another to the counts left, where Anakin will sit. A serving droid waits by the single large, clear window at the back of the room, which allows for a view of the endless forests surrounding the palace. 

"Good morning, master" Anakin says.

Without even acknowledging his existence, Dooku wordlessly glances at the time. Anakin waits for some sort of responce, but Dooku gives none, neither condemning him nor praising him. Its almost as if he is drawing out the wait to just toy with him. Anakin bites back his growing uneasiness, clenching his fists together behind his back as he does so. 

After several very long, tense seconds, Dooku finally turns and nods curtly at Anakin. "Apprentice" 

He sighs inwardly with relief, Dookus rather plain response meant that he is probably just on time. He cautiously makes his way to his seat. The large, hand-crafted and cushioned chair he sits on is drastically different for any chair he would have sat on on Tatooine.

Picking up a fork, he begins to tuck into his breakfast. Dooku, as usual, is ignoring him, favoring the data-pad to his side. Which could hold a whole manor of treasures inside. The count idly flicks through whatever he is looking at before taking a neat bite out of his breakfast. The curiosity quickly begins to eat away at all of Anakins resolve, eventually forcing him to try his best to inconspicuously peer at whatever the count is looking at. 

He really shouldn't, but nobody ever tells him anything and that data-pad probably holds an entire plethora of useful knowledge inside. Information is also a much sought after luxury here. While Anakin can rattle off all the senators currently in office on Corasant, he wouldn't be able to tell anyone the first thing about count Dooku or Palpatine. They're enigmas to him. Them and their plans. On the rare occasions that Palpatine does come to visit, he always tells Anakin that he must train harder, because he is the key to the 'great ascension of the Sith'. But they won't tell him anything more other than the fact that he is important.

Just as Anakin leans forward enough to allow his eyes to graze over the information on the datapad, Dooku looks up at him. Anakin jolts back and fixes his eyes on his breakfast. He holds his breadth, but can feel a warmth in his face, signifying that he was likely blushing. A cold fear simmers in his gut. Out of all the luxuries denied to him, mercy is the one he wishes for the most. But that is a gift rarely bestowed by the Sith. Dooku, again, remains frustratingly silent, he feels the force signature of the Count brush against his mind, making him flinch. 

"Tell me Anakin, what is the role of the apprentice" Dooku asks with an odd calm that instantly puts him on edge. Dooku only ever uses that tone on certain occasions. Very specific occasions Anakin would very much like to forget.

Anakin instantly recalls the definition of a Sith apprentices role. "To obey his masters command, and to learn from him" He answers quickly. Dooku asks this question a lot. 

Another long silence from the count. By now, Anakin is almost sure that he is drawing out the wait just to inflate his anxiety.

"And when did you learn to pry into your masters personal records without any prior command to do so? " Dooku says, using the same casual tone.

Anakin bites his lip, and can feel a cold sweat surging through his vains. He never knows what to say in situations like these, because even though Dooku sounds at ease, Anakin knows that underneath his mask there is a monster waiting to pounce at the slightest mistake. 

"I wasn't prying master" He says, hoping that maybe he can convince the count that he is innocent, despite that fact that he isn't.

"I asked you a question" The counts says, his tone ever so slightly more threatening.

"I-I never learned to pry into your- I mean my masters records, master" 

"Apparently you were learning to lie instead" Dooku says sharply. He suddenly stands, causing a bolt of fear to strike Anakin like lightning. 

"What is your role?" He asks again, all the while glaring down at the young boy with fiery yellow eyes that were brown a moment before.

"To obey, and to le-"

"To Obey" Dooku cuts in before Anakin can finish.

"Since your not Obeying, I can see that you obviously aren't a worthy sith apprentice" That word. It always causes a fiery anxiety slam straight into Anakins chest every single time its uttered. Worthy. Palpatine chose him. Palpatine says he is the key. Palpatine says he has to be his best, all the time. Yet all the time Dooku calls him unworthy.

Anakins face instantly darkens, and Dooku knew it. He felt the surging emotions crashing within the boy. Of course, the word worthy is always the safe, reliable card to play. Dooku knows Anakin has to feel worthy, because of he isn't worthy to be here, then he would have been ripped away from everything he cared about for nothing. And that feeling of being denied everything for nothing brings the boy to his knees quicker than any punishment Dooku has ever carried out on him.

"Who are you?" Dooku asked, his tone less threatening.

"Darth Vader" Anakin replied instantly.

"Are you?" 

"Yes, master"

"Does Darth Vader disobey those teaching him?"

"No, master"

"Would Darth Vader carry out any task commanded of him by his superiors?"

"Yes, master"

Dooku scoffed, crossed his arms, and leaned into Anakins personal space.

"Then you are not Darth Vader"

"I-I Am master" Anakin insists, suddenly growing a lot more anxious.

A smile slid across Dookus face. "Then prove it" 

***

Obi-Wan gazes out large, oval-shaped window of the meditation chamber, soaking up the brilliant cityscape before him. Its towering buildings casting long, tired shadows indicating a slow creep into the darkness of the coming night. Obi-wan sighs; he should be meditating, that's what he always comes here to do, yet he often finds himself doing the opposite; brooding. His master is dead. Dead and gone at the hands of a Sith. A sith, who he only just managed to kill. A sith, who had awoken within him an inner turmoil he was not yet ready for. His master is dead. Even though a year has already passed, the pain he feels over Qui-Gon's death is not yet gone. A Jedi should rejoice when one dies, for they are being released into the force. A Jedi should be at peace knowing that all who leave are joined into the force itself, to live forever as part of its collective energy. A Jedi should take consolation in that the force will always be there to guide them, no matter the circumstances. Yet Obi-Wan felt little joy, even less serenity, and no peace. 

Traffic lanes crowded with hundreds upon hundreds of speeders zip by. Every speeder representing at least one person, who, in all likelihood is blissfully unaware of all the horrors the universe holds. If only he could be like them; existing without waking up every morning to remember that the Sith now pose a very real threat to the galaxy. A war was coming. His masters death signaled the beginning of the Siths awakening, everyone can feel it. The council is being more cautious than ever. The knights are jumpy. The padawans restless. He even more so. To have been the first person to kill a Sith in over a thousand years, its no surprise that he is feeling a little shaken up. He closes his eyes and he see's Mauls yellow eyes, bright with a ravenous hunger to kill. He sees the red blade pierce his masters stomach, watches him fall helplessly to the ground. Those yellow eyes, nothing can represent something so cruel, so violent, so unrelenting, so inhumane as those yellow eyes.

As the chronometer ticks steadily past the nineteenth hour, the sky gives way to an explosion of yellows and purples. The days final burst of color before the inevitable night. Obi-Wan takes in the beauty of the sky before him, observing silently as lights flicker in the windows of the towering skyscrapers. He furrows his brow in resilience; he had felt the very real pain of grief and had wallowed in it for almost a year. But is a knight now. He is truly a member of the Jedi order, and as such, its his duty to uphold all of their virtues. The darkness may be coming, but he will be ready. His master will not have died in vain. Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes and with some difficulty, releases his emotions to the force. Then, he turns from the window and sits, cross-legged, upon the meditation mat in the center of the room. There is no passion, there is peace. 

A storm is coming, but the rain it brings always allows for life to grow. Obi-Wan has been through the storm. He has felt the very real pain of grief and has wallowed in it for almost a year. Has endured the cascading torrents of Mauls fevered assault. He takes in another deep breath, and allows the force to flow freely through him. Now, he will blossom to life, he will grow tall and dependable. He will be ready to weather whatever was to come. He is a Jedi knight, and no storm will break him. No loss will cripple him. No war will thwart him. No Sith will ruin him. The force washes away his grief as he surrenders to the light side. Qui-Gon is gone, but his teachings will live on through him. There is no death, there is the force.

***

It's dark. Anakin inches forward, trying in vain to gain some sort of awareness from his surroundings. Dooku had thrown him into the large training room underneath the castle, and had flicked off the lights without giving Anakin so much as a hint as to what would come next. He can feel small prickles of fear tickling the back of his neck, causing an outburst of goosebumps to run along his skin. He has to prove himself once more; prove that he is worthy to be Sith. Yet Anakin doesn't truly know what that word means.

"Obedience is the singular trait every apprentice holds" Dooku's voice echoes throughout the room. "No matter his own motives or desires, the apprentice always obeys"

Anakin takes a tentative step forward, with fists clenched nervously. He is unsure. He wants to prove himself, he wants to be obiedient. Yet to obey one must first be able to complete the order given to them. There is a groaning of movement around him. But Anakin cant pinpoint it in the darkness. He shifts his weight in preparation to some sort of conflict, reaching for the newly constructed lightsaber resting peacefully on his belt. 

"Now, apprentice, you will kill your advisories"

The groaning gets louder, he hears hatches opening, then a ragged breath. The force warns of foreign life nearby, echoes of fear and confusion similar to his own simmer in the distance.

Suddenly a brilliantly blue lightsaber bursts to life a few feat away from him, illuminating the face of a teen a few years older than him. His dirty brown hair is tossed and messy, and the makings of a beard frame his youthful face. A long braid of hair hangs towards his shoulder, the tell-tale symbol of a Jedi padawan.

"Kota?" The padawan askes warily.

"Anim?" A distinctly feminine voice calls back. Its a young voice, one belonging to someone a few years behind him. Anakin grips the hilt of his lightsaber in shaking hands full of high-strung fear and adrenaline. Kill your advisories. 

"Kota, where are you?" He asks again.

Anakin creeps towards the boy. He can not fail, he can not endure any more of Dooku's sick punishments. 

"I-I'm coming towards you" The young girl replys 

He draws closer, but not close enough to allow any light to fall unto him.

"Don't be afraid Kota, we'll get out of here" the padawan says, turning his face away from Anakin a he attempts to get an idea of his surroundings.

Anakin takes the opportunity to strike; igniting his blood-red blade and a millisecond later slashing down towards the padawans shoulder. But his advisory senses him, darting his head around and drawing his lightsaber up to block Anakins' just before the blade makes contact with flesh. An instant later and the boys are dueling viciously in the darkness. Anakin concentrates on the singular glowing blue blade whirling around in front of him, the padawan is taller than Anakin, and stronger too. Before he knows it he is on the defensive, and being forced backwards into the unknown behind.

"Anim!" The girl shouts from the darkness. The padawan pays her no heed, his eyes are locked on Anakins. Anakin puts his gaze past their lightsabers and to what they are illuminating. As the blades twirl he catches sight of the padawans body, his pose is wrong, the right leg to far forward. A weakness to exploit. Anakin blocks another heavy strike from the padawan before quickly swiping at his legs, the padawan jumps into the air and kicks Anakin in the head as he does so. Sending him flying backwards. Sharp pain erupts from his chin as he falls to the cold ground. A blue blade swings towards his face. He rolls, just dodging the hit. Anakin stands and just manages to regain his balance before the padawan is on him again. 

"Use your anger" The count commands distantly. 

"Blasted sith!" The padawan shouts and swings for Anakins' neck. He dodges again, his breath becoming more audible under the strain of the fight.

Their blades clash a second later as the relentless padawan pushes his assault. Anakin trys to conjure up a rage to match his advisories but only finds fear within him. Another powerful belt against Anakins blade sends shivers down his arms. The padawan clashes again, so hard that Anakin has to use the force to match the strenght in the strike. As Anakin focuses all of his force energy on deflecting the attack, the padawan takes advantage and releases a wave of energy that sweeps him off his feet as he flys backwards. His back rams into the hard wall. His vision is stary and for a few moments he cant orientate himself. 

The padawan uses the force to charge towards him, roaring, his lightsaber raised for the kill. But just as the blue blade is about to strike him down as pair of small hands latch unto the padawans and freeze them in place.

"No! Not in anger!" The young girl cries.

Suddenly, the lights flicker on, and Anakins' gaze falls upon his saviour; a young twi'lek girl with muted green skin. She wears the clothing of a Jedi youngling, though her small tunic in tattered and frayed, with burn marks on the edges. Her pudgy, young face is filled with dread and torment. She can't be more than six. The padawan's gaze leaves Anakin and turns to the girl, and that fire in his eyes dim significantly. He looks as if he was been caught in the act of some heinous crime, the padawan suddenly drops his lightsaber and takes several terrified steps away from Anakin.

"Be tactical apprentice" Dooku hisses.

Anakin, for a moment, dosen't know what to do. After a few seconds he gets up and takes the padawans lightsaber off the ground. The girl watches him warily, her steady, green eyes denoting a wisdom surpassing her age. He is blown away; this girl saved his life. He should be on his knees thanking her. Not contemplating her death. 

"They must die"

In an instant, fear strikes him again. Stabbing in the center of his heart like a dagger. But this time, he isn't afraid for himself.

The girls eyes don't leave his for a second, yet her gaze isn't angry, or threatning, or even fearful. Its controled, its understanding.

"You don't have to do this, you know" She says evenly. 

The dagger twists in his chest. How can he kill her after she saved his life?

The padawan, disarmed and defeated, is now shaking visibly. 

"P-please, kill me not her. I'm the one you want" He pleads. 

"I can feel the light within you" The girl continues. "Your lying to yourself" 

"Finish them, apprentice" Dooku barks suddenly, making everyone jump. "Or you will face the consequences of your indecision" 

Memories of Dooku ripping through his mind with the force send shock-waves of dread through his system. He hesitates, something inside of him stilling his hand, rooting his feet in place.

"Who are you?" Dooku prompts, his voice rising. Anakin dosen't answer intimidately. "Who are you?" Dooku asks again, more forcefully this time.

"Darth Vader" Anakin whispers.

"Who?"

"D-Darth Vader"

"Does Darth Vader show mercy to the weak?"

"N-no"

"Does the Sith apprentice obey his master?" Dooku said, his voice raising to the point to where he was nearly shouting.

Anakin is silent, adrenilane courses through his body. His hands clench tighter around the hilt of the blade. HIs muscles are constricting so tightly that the slightest pressure will set them into deadly action.

"Does he?!"

He shuts his eyes, every cell in his body trembles with unreleased power, with fear, with revulsion, with so many emotions he can hardly contain himself.

"Who are you?!" 

The blade activates, and in the blink of an eye Anakin slices through the young girl beside him, crying out as he does so. The padawan crys with him.

His knees are weak, his hair sticks to his forhead. He opens his eyes, hatred and revulsion for the horrific act he just committed fueling a hidden power within him. Fueling the dark side. His first murder. The padwan takes a fearful step back. Anakin feels wet tears spread down his cheek, but he moves forward anyway. He runs into the padawan, stabbing him in the gut with another pained cry. 

He Looks up to see blood pour out of the padawans mouth. His eyes glaze over and he falls away as Anakin removes the blade. He feels cold, so cold. His clothes stick to him, his breaths come erratically. There is a short silence.

"Who are you?" The count asks once more, calmer this time.

Anakin takes a deep breath, only to exhale a shaky one. Its done. He killed them. The dark side latches further unto his emotions, pulling away his fear and guilt and replacing it with power. Sheer, uncontrolled, power. Power, that is so blinding it almost burns him. Every fiber of his being is alive, more alive than they have ever been. Waves of anger pulse through him. He is a monster, he killed them. Yet the thought only makes the roaring assault of the dark side stronger. The strength steadies his shaking hands. Drys up his watery eyes. Who was he? Would Anakin do this? Would a slave rise up to kill another like he had? No. Would a Sith?

Anakins face tightens. His muscles tense in anticipation. He holds his head up high, and looks towards Dooku, who stands upon the observation balcony above him.

"I am Darth Vader"


End file.
